Mexico’s largest freight company has temporarily halted 60 trains in the north — because of an “unprecedented” number of migrants hitching rides to the US border.
Ferromex announced the mass service suspension Tuesday, days after a video went viral showing hundreds of cheering migrants crammed into one of its trains.
The company said “the accumulation of migrants in recent days has increased significantly,” causing about a “half-dozen regrettable cases of injury or death” among those trying to illegally cross into the US.
“Due to this, Ferromex will temporarily suspend its operations on the affected routes to protect the physical integrity of the migrants, and will be monitoring whatever measures authorities implement,” the company announced.
The routes that will be affected include train service to US border cities like Ciudad Juárez, Mexicali, Nogales and Piedras Negras.
An “unprecedented” number of migrants have been hitching rides on Mexico cargo trains heading toward the US border. REUTERS
Experts say the stoppage could impact international trade, and negatively affect Mexican industrial states like Nuevo Leon, Baja California and Chihuahua, given their links to the US market.
A spokesperson for the rail operator’s parent company, Grupo México, told NBC News it is the first time since Ferromex was founded in 1998 that it has had to shut down its railways due to the migrant hitchhikers.
He said the number of migrants trying to ride the trains was “unprecedented.”
According to Ferromex, more than 4,000 migrants have boarded the cargo trains in several cities. AP
According to Ferromex, more than 4,000 migrants have boarded the cargo trains in several cities, with a single train on a route to Ciudad Juárez — which is directly across the border from El Paso, Texas — carrying as many as 1,000 hitchhikers.
One Ferromex train was recently filmed passing through the central Mexican city of Zacatecas as it made its way northbound on a 750-mile journey to the US.
Each cargo carriage was packed with people cheering, clapping and whistling in apparent triumph — with some even hanging from the sides and waving at the camera.
At the same time, Ferromex reported that there are currently 1,500 migrants waiting for a train at a railyard in Torreon, in the northern border state of Coahuila, and 800 migrants waiting in Irapuato, in the north-central state of Guanajuato.
Migrants say they are boarding the cargo trains after facing delays in getting an appointment with US Border Patrol.
One Venezuelan migrant named Heyder told Reuters he decided to hop on board a train en route to Ciudad Juárez after waiting more than three months in northern Mexico hoping to land an appointment on a US government smartphone app to present at a port of entry.
Ferromex reported that there are currently 1,500 migrants waiting for a train at a railyard in Torreon, in the northern border state of Coahuila, and 800 migrants waiting in Irapuato, in the north-central state of Guanajuato. AP
Migrants say they are boarding the cargo trains after facing delays to get an appointment with US Border Patrol. AP
“We are risking everything aboard the train, our lives, everything, because in our countries there is no hope,” he said.
As The Post previously reported, cartels have been encouraging migrants to head to the border and overwhelm operations there.
El Paso has seen surges of up to 1,700 people a day handing themselves over to Border Patrol officers. City figures showed 4,600 in CBP custody on Tuesday.
With Post wires
Mexican rail company halts operations to US border cities
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